Data Hot Off the Spreadsheets!

Latest Builder Practices Reports Now Available

According to the latest Annual Builder Practices Survey, conducted by Home Innovation Research Labs, the home building industry is finally climbing out of the doldrums, and some exciting and unexpected opportunities are revealing themselves. For over 30 years, Home Innovation’s annual survey and reports have tracked market shares of building material categories.

Survey Says...

Some of the most interesting findings from the latest survey include:

Fire sprinkler systems are now found in 12% of all new single-family detached homes and 55% of multifamily units. Builders’ top choice is still the CPVC stand-alone system, but PEX combined plumbing and sprinkler systems are gaining - now accounting for a third of all sprinklers in new single-family detached (SFD) homes.

Whole-house mechanical ventilation is moving closer to becoming the norm. Since 2008, shares of SFD homes with whole-house ventilation have grown from 9% to 27% - a 300% increase in just six years! About 4% of SFD homes had HRVs and 3% had ERVs.

The garage door is finally getting the attention it deserves! Upgrades are up across the board, including insulated doors (66%), those with windows (37%), and those made of composite or plastic materials (11%). In 2014, 32% of all new SFD homes had bays for 3 or more cars - the most ever recorded in this study!

In kitchen countertops, granite (64%) and quartz/engineered stone (6%) continue to gain popularity at the expense of laminate, solid surfacing, and ceramic tile.

The single basinkitchen sink is making a comeback, growing from 5% to 20% of all new SFD homes in the past decade! Granite/stone kitchen sinks (8%) are growing at a faster rate than any other material type, and enameled cast iron is rebounding from its recession-induced low in 2009. Shares of one-piece cultured marble lavatories continue to decline.

In flooring, carpeting remains the most popular material in new homes—still dominating with about 83% of all new home bedroom installations, but now only at about 40% of living rooms family rooms. Hardwood flooring—both solid and engineered varieties—continued its growth in 2014 and is the second most popular flooring category with 27% of all new home installations. Ceramic tile—now with 72% of all bathroom floor installation in new homes—follows in the third position with 20% of all new home flooring installations.

As for appliances, cooktops and wall oven combinations now have 24% of the market—taking share from freestanding stoves, which now have 45%. Freezer-on-bottom refrigerators are now at 19%, and side-by-side, while still the most common configuration, has slid to 28%. In third is the traditional freezer-on-top with 13%.

This is just a sampling of the findings. Full reports are now ready to deliver for the following report categories: